2011 NBA Finals: 5 Ways Dirk and the Dallas Mavericks Can Beat the Miami Heat
Starting Tuesday, it's do or die.
Two teams, the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat, have given it their all to get to the 2011 NBA Finals.
Thanks to Dallas's sweep of the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers, there will be a new champion come next season.
Both teams are extremely different.
Miami's game is based off fast breaks and using athleticism to their advantage, while Dallas relies on strong veteran play, jump shooting and unbelievable play from former NBA MVP, Dirk Nowitzki.
Many people are counting Dallas out, calling them too old and not athletic enough.
Here are five changes Dallas could use to ensure they prove all of those critics wrong and walk out as champions.
Play Corey Brewer More Often
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Corey Brewer is Dallas's most athletic perimeter player.
He is also one of the league's most hard-nosed defenders, being able to get under player's skin, and throwing them off their game is his specialty.
As of now, Shawn Marion is Dallas's main defender.
He did an excellent job on Kevin Durant in the Western Conference finals, even though Durant won't tell you that.
Shawn Marion will probably be busy defending LeBron James while Dallas's other perimeter defender, Deshawn Stevenson, is going to get to work on Dwyane Wade.
Keeping both guy's on check is going to be extremely hard and very tiring.
That's where Corey Brewer comes in.
He is probably Dallas's best defender, but he is seldom used since he is relatively new to the team, being signed around the trade deadline after being bought out by the New York Knicks.
Brewer could come in and keep the intensity that Stevenson and Marion started going, and maybe even pushing himself to a level above their play.
Go Big
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Dirk Nowitzki is going to need his rest here and there.
This is the perfect time to go big and defensive.
Not having Dirk on the floor is going to hurt the offense, so another scorer will be needed on there. This is the right time to give the scoring load to former Sixth Man of the Year, Jason Terry.
At the shooting guard and the small forward would be Deshawn Stevenson/Corey Brewer and Shawn Marion, respectively.
This would give them two excellent defenders on the floor at a time to contain James and Wade (if that is humanly possible), while another rests on the bench, ready for his turn to man up either player.
At the power forward would be Tyson Chandler. This gives Dallas a proven post defender to go to work on Chris Bosh, ensuring that all of the Miami Heat "Big Three" is contained.
Finally, at the center, would be Brendan Haywood.
This is a key advantage of Dallas. They are able to bring in a center off the bench who would be starting for almost any other team in the league.
With Chandler and Haywood in the middle, Dallas would be swatting shots left and right, while also altering tons of others.
It would also give them an advantage on the glass, giving them easy rebounds.
Play JJ Barea Only When Mike Bibby Is Playing
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JJ Barea will always be the smallest player on the court, but that works in his favor.
He is adept at slicing up defenses on his way to the rim, causing all sorts of havoc for the defense as he goes, but Heat point guard Mario Chalmers may be able to slow him down a bit.
Guarding players like that is Mike Bibby's greatest weakness though.
Bibby has never been a good defender, but as he's gotten older, you'd expect him to play with a more level head on that side of the ball.
Well, that just shows that all assumptions should be thrown out the nearest window.
Bibby has just become a worse defender as years pass by, and it's going to bite him in the backside this series as he tries to guard JJ Barea.
Oh wait, I forgot to mention that before he even gets to guard Barea, he's going to have to go up against the ageless wonder, Jason Kidd.
Kidd has lost his first step and almost all quickness, but he may be the league's smartest player, and he has produced consistently due to that.
Pick your poison Mike Bibby.
Play Terry, Kidd and Dirk at the Same Time Even More
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Having Dirk, Terry and Kidd on the floor gives Dallas their best offense. The last two positions should be filled with any combination of Chandler or Haywood and Brewer, Marion or Stevenson.
Dirk will always be keeping pressure on the offense, and double teams will be hard to execute due to Terry's and Kidd's three-point shooting.
If Stevenson is also a reliable shooter from deep, so having him on the floor could help, too.
No one on Miami's roster could play Dirk straight up, but frankly, no one in the league can.
This forces double teams, meaning one of Dallas's shooters is always open. Having shooters on the floor also scares some teams and forces them to not double team, leaving Dirk with only one defender to get past.
Run the Kidd-Nowitzki Pick and Roll More Often
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The Kidd-Nowitzki combo is most effective when Kidd runs the pick-and-roll with Dirk.
Either the other team switches and leaves a guard on Dirk, or Dirk spots up at the high post area, leaving him an open shot.
Big men can't handle Dirk down low, so in no way possible will a guard be able to.
He puts pressure on the smaller defenders, using fakes and shimmys to confuse them, which helps him draw fouls, leaving opposing coaches baffled.
Dirk is most deadly from medium range, which is why he shouldn't be left alone around the high post. He isn't only deadly because of his jump shot, though, as he is agile enough to get past bigger defenders.
His pump fake is especially deadly, often times leaving him wide open lanes to the basket.
